Businessmirror may 14, 2016

Brazil president impeached Operation Car Wash

BrazilIAN President Dilma Rousseff speaks after leaving the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia on Thursday. Speaking hours after the Senate voted to impeach her on Thursday, Rousseff blasted the process as “fraudulent,” and promised to fight what she characterized as an injustice more painful than the torture she endured under a past military dictatorship. Story on B2-1. AP/Felipe Dana

BRAZIL

Source: TNS contributors, Brazilian Prosecution Service Graphic: TNS

February 2016: Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo resigns, reportedly being pressured to do so for not putting a stop to the corruption investigation.

March 11, 2016: Prosecutors announce that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may have received assets from the corruption surrounding Petrobras.

September 2015: Vaccari Neto, the treasurer of the Worker’s Party, is sentenced to more than 15 years in jail.

Dilma Rousseff

November 2015: Senator Delcidio do Amaral is arrested; he led the Labour Party, the majority in the Senate.

March 16, 2016: President Dilma Rousseff appoints former President Lula da Silva as her chief of staff. A judge vetoes the appointment, saying it could interfere with the investigation into him.

Elected Brazil’s first woman president in 2010. Member of Brazil’s Worker’s Party Previously: • Minister of Energy and Mines under President Lula de Silva • Chair, Petrobras board of directors

May 12, 2016: The Senate votes to suspend President Rousseff and impeach her. Vice President Michel Temer takes over as interim president.

Antigovernment demonstrators celebrate after the lower house of Congress voted to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in São Paulo on April 17. The sign reads in Portuguese: “There’s not going to be a coup, there’s going to be an impeachment!

Good-bye, dear!” Rousseff is accused of using accounting tricks in managing the federal budget to maintain spending and shore up support. AP/Andre Penner

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2015 environmental Media Award leadership award 2008

A broader look at today’s business

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Saturday, May 14, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 217

DOMINGUEZ SAYS BSP GOVERNOR CAN KEEP HIS POST BEYOND 2017

Duterte wants Tetangco back on economic team

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

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INSIDE

HE Duterte administration will keep a hands-off policy on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), agreeing with its leadership’s current monetary stance.

ILOILO DETAINEES ALLOWED TO VOTE B4 Saturday, May 14, 2016 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

OurTime BusinessMirror

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LOILO CITY—A total of 447 male inmates of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Ungka, Jaro district of this city, cast their votes during the synchronized national and local elections on Monday.

By Roderuck L. Abad | Contributor

As they joined millions of Filipinos in selecting the would-be leaders in the next six years, they could not help, but hope that the next administration will look into their plight as well.

Romeo (not his real name) is now 63 years old. He hoped the next administration will grant freedom to senior citizens who are languishing in jail.

Another inmate, 28-year-old Nilo (not his real name), wished the next administration would look into drug problems. He said 80 percent of the inmate population of the BJMP are facing drug-related cases.

A 34-year-old inmate said he voted for Manuel A. Roxas II because he believes that he would continue

the daang matuwid (straight path) of President Aquino.

The voting process went smoothly, although some inmates were not able to follow the instructions they were told to do during a briefing conducted by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

Detainees were allowed to vote only for the national candidates, but some shaded the portion for local candidates. These ballots will be sent to the central Commission on Elections (Comelec) for their votes to be canvassed.

The Comelec in Iloilo City has established an on-site polling center for the male and female dormitories of the BJMP that were manned by the special board of election inspectors. PNA

DANCE TEACHER

The 77-year-old Coliwan leads the elders’ dance group in Burnham Park, Baguio City. Coliwan, a former dance instructor at the University of the Cordilleras, now helps the elderly in Baguio stay limber by teaching them dance exercises in the park every morning. MAU VICTA

5 elderly holdouts fight closure of assisted-living home Ailing patients

breathe new vigor into industrial gas suppliers

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EW YORK—The stately dining room at this oncebustling old-age home has been emptied, its floors ripped up.

The tiny general store’s shelves are barren, and the exercise room has gone silent. No one is leafing through the books of the library or digging into a treat in the ice-cream parlor or painting at an easel in the art room.

In the hulking assisted-living facility, all that remains are five women, ages 91 to 101, in the fight of their long lives.

Two years after the owner of Prospect Park Residence announced the building in the trendy park slope neighborhood would be sold and converted to condos, its fate remains in limbo.

The announcement came in a meeting that elicited screams and wails from among the 125 residents. Yet nearly all of them— including Holocaust survivors, a Tuskegee airman and a floor full of people with advanced dementia—have heeded management’s call to leave.

In a sort of age-reversed version of a campus sit-in, however, five have refused to go, challenging the handling of the sale and sparking a web of litigation. The holdouts' fight is shedding light on the rights of the elderly and the difficulty of transition in life’s twilight.

“I think we have that right to do what we want to do,” said 93-year-old Annemarie Mogil, a retired social worker who has remained in her eighth-floor apartment. She said she can’t imagine leaving Brooklyn or imposing on a daughter who already has her hands full. “I’ve earned my rest. I worked hard. I deserve my peace.”

Down the hall, Alice Singer takes solace in the place she has come to regard as home, decorated with oil and acrylic paintings she made. She speaks of small comforts—big windows and bright light—but also of the overarching fear: She doesn’t know where she'd go if she had to leave.

A few f loors below, it is the same fear that keeps 98-yearold Lillian Guide from leaving her apartment.

“A ll of this,” said Deborah Pollack, the daughter of Guide, who has Alzheimer’s disease, “is an effort to protect my mother from having to go into a storage facility.”

Prospect Park Residence, in op-

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ELDERLY BOARD GAME

Two elderly women—56-year-old Manuela P. Cruz (right) and Dominga Smith, 69—passed the time playing a checkerboard game in front of their stall in Baguio City public market. MAU VICTA

eration for years and anchored on a lucrative plot of Brooklyn land, was purchased in 2006 by developer Haysha Deitsch for about $40 million. In 2013 he reached a deal to sell the property for $76.5 million, with millions more in potential bonuses if he could meet deadlines for emptying the building. The home’s fate remained secret, following state Department of Health rules, until its closure plan was approved and then announced in March 2014. Lawyers and others allied with families of the residents see more to the story, though.

It was billed as an assisted-living facility, but unbeknownst to tenants, it was not licensed as one by the state until 10 months before it submitted its closure plan. In litigation predating the current battles, Deitsch insisted he was simply a landlord, and “not in the healthcare business.”

Those who oppose the owner believe he sought a license simply because he thought it would ease the removal of residents, avoiding potentially costly and lengthy evictions through New York City’s housing court. The rules for long-term care centers only require 30 days’ notice to residents before closing. Deitsch gave them 90.

“If you tried to evict 120 old

people in landlord-tenant court, it would take you five years and probably $10 million in attorney fees,” said John O’Hara, an attorney who has filed seven wrongfuldeath suits against the facility claiming inadequate treatment or improper discharge played a role in fatalities. By getting assistedliving status, O’Hara said, “she gets a license just to kick everyone out.”

As Prospect Park Residence was emptying, a small band of tenants decided the home was worth putting up a fight for.

Local politicians came to their defense, and The Legal Aid Society sued on their behalf. As the months ticked by, they said Deitsch purposely worsened conditions in hopes of persuading them to leave. O’Hara called it a “campaign of terror.”

The holdout residents were being bathed less frequently and saw housekeeping scaled back and some elevators shut off, their backers said. On hot days, they said central air conditioning was cut off, leaving many parts of the building stif ling, and window units were ineffective and noisy. On cold days, they said the heat was tampered with.

Singer remembered her aides jury-rigging baths with microwaved water because manage-

ment had shut off the hot water.

Deitsch, the opponents of the sale say, orchestrated those moves all the while raising fees on t he holdouts. T hen, in a countersuit against the families of the remaining residents, he called for $50 million in damage for their interference in the sa le, “slanderous"”a l legations and resulting “mental anguish.”

“In the court of public opinion, we’re never going to win. But we weren’t left with a choice,” Deitsch said in a brief interview. “I’m not trying to win the public. I’m trying to take care of the people and I’m trying to do what’s right.”

In an emailed reply to additional questions from The Associated Press, Deitsch said he wishes some circumstances were different, but he always followed state law. Residents of the home always “received outstanding services and care” and he never cut back on services, he said.

Choosing to close was not an easy decision, he said, but costs became untenable at Prospect Park Residence after the expiration of temporary tax benefits.

He rejects the idea that he sought licensure for the facility simply to ease evictions; had he planned to close, he said, he never would have gone through the cumbersome process at all. AP

Also, the tourism sector will continue to be a priority under the incoming administration, Carlos G. Dominguez said in a phone interview with the

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Iloilo detainees allowed to vote

N a cluttered suburban apartment east of Paris, health technician Vincent Mallet adjusts a plastic tube delivering oxygen to an elderly man’s diseased lungs. Sitting at the dining-room table, Mallet tests the equipment while the patient and his wife recount the daily struggles of living with chronic illness.

In the past the couple would have made frequent visits to a nearby hospital. With Mallet now spending about an hour a week calibrating a bedside machine and writing a report for the man’s doctor as part of his rounds in the town of Fontenay-sousBois, those visits have become rare.

Mallet isn’t a nurse or physician.

He’s an employee of Air Liquide SA, a French company better known for supplying gases in heavy cylinders and pipelines to industrial sites like refineries and steel plants. The visit to the patient, paid for by France’s state-funded medical system, is part of Air Liquide’s expanding healthcare operations.

As factory demand softens and an oil slump hurts new industrial projects, big gas suppliers, like Air Liquide SA, Linde AG and Praxair Ltd. have discovered they can profit from aging populations and an increase in chronic illness, like asthma and diabetes. Linde serves 1.7 million home patients and said the global market for the kinds of health-care services it offers is on track to double over the 10 years to 2020, to €17 billion ($20 billion).

“The potential for health care is huge, both in Europe and in emerging markets,’’ said Benoit Potier, Air Liquide CEO, which serves 1.3 million patients. “Governments around the world are discovering that health care in the home can be cheaper and more effective than hospital stays.”

The gas companies were started more than a century ago by scientists who figured out how to liquefy and separate gases for industrial uses. Business boomed on demand for oxygen from steelmakers and nitrogen for chemical factories. As early as the 1930s, the companies began supplying hospitals with oxygen and nitrous oxide used as anesthesia. Since the 1980s that has expanded to include homehealth services.

@Pulitika2010 Special to the BusinessMirror

Senior-citizen ward opens in Mimaropa hospital

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HE Department of Health (DOH) in Mimaropa, in partnership with the Dr. Damian Reyes Provincial Hospital, formally opened the first Senior Citizen’s Ward in the region in the provincial hospital in Boac, Marinduque, to cater to the elderly residents of the province.

Mimaropa is composed of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

“It is our duty to take good care of our elderly population and provide them the utmost care they deserve. They must be given priority and ensure that they will be accommodated conveniently,” Director Eduardo C. Janairo said during his visit to the facility.

The ward was opened for elderly patients on March 18. Dr. Janairo said senior-citizen patients need not worry for they will not pay anything because they are already covered by Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s No Balance Billing Policy.

“Indigent senior citizens can also avail themselves of free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease upon check-up,” he added.

The Senior Citizen Ward is at the old administration building of the provincial hospital. It is fully furnished and equipped with air-conditioning with a 10-bed capacity divided between male and female patients.

DOH-Mimaropa provided the hospital beds and bedside tables from the funds of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program. The ward’s construction started in January at the initiative of the OIC-Chief of Hospital, Dr. Ruby Ephraim M. Rubiano, also the head of the Health Facilities Operations and Development Unit of the DOH-Mimaropa.

The Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 provides for a senior-citizen ward in every government hospital for the exclusive use of senior citizens who are in need of hospital confinement. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

BusinessMirror. Dominguez heads the economic cluster of newly elected President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s transition team, and is said to be taking over

the Department of Finance (DOF). He clarified, though, that he has not yet accepted the DOF post, and is “just helping out in the transition committee.”

Continued on A3

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thunder roar Sports BusinessMirror

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| SAturdAy, MAy 14, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao | Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

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Zakarin was third with the same time.

Dumoulin, who rides for Team GiantAlpecin, was fourth in the stage after launching a counterattack that responded to an attack seconds earlier by overall rival Vincenzo Nibali.

“My attack was not planned but I saw Nibali going so I went, too,” Dumoulin said.

“There was only one opportunity and I took it.

I really surprised myself. I was stronger than I expected. I didn’t think I’d be in that shape for climbing. It was not a high mountain but it was still a proper climb.”

Dumoulin leads Fuglsang by 26 seconds overall, with Zakarin third, 28 seconds back.

Among the overall favorites, Alejandro Valverde was sixth, 41 seconds behind, and Nibali was ninth, 47 seconds back.

Stage 7 on Friday is a rolling 211-km leg from Sulmona to Foligno. AP

TIM WELLENS celebrates his stage victory »by lifting his bike above his head after crossing the line. AP

The Thunder’s stars rose to the occasion, with Kevin Durant scoring 37 points and Russell Westbrook 28, while Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder.

By Cliff Brunt The Associated Press

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KLAHOMA CITY—Oklahoma City advanced to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference finals and left San Antonio’s veteran team staring at an uncertain future by beating the Spurs, 113-99, on Thursday to clinch the series 4-2.

The Thunder’s stars rose to the occasion, with Kevin Durant scoring 37 points and Russell Westbrook 28, while Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder.

“We knew what we had to do to win the series,” Westbrook said. “They’re a great team.

They’ve been winning for 10-plus years, same pace. I’m just proud of our guys.”

Oklahoma City will face defending NBA champion Golden State in the Western Conference finals, starting on Monday in Oakland.

And the Spurs could head into an uncertain future after a franchise-record, 67-win season,

THUNDER

WELLENS IN GIRO STAGE 6

OCCARASO, Italy—Belgian rider Tim Wellens won the first mountaintop finish of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday, while Dutchman Tom Dumoulin added to his overall lead in the sixth stage.

Wellens got into a breakaway before the climb then attacked solo on the way up to the Roccaraso ski resort, giving the Lotto Soudal team consecutive wins after Andre Greipel’s sprint victory a day earlier.

“I have [teammate] Pim Ligthart to thank,” Wellens said. “It was his idea to go away together at that point in the race.... I’m happy that no team rode behind us.”

Wellens celebrated by lifting his bike above his head after crossing the line.

It was Wellens’s first win in a Grand Tour and the seventh stage victory of his career. He also won a stage in Paris-Nice this year.

Wellens clocked nearly five hours over the 157-kilometer route, which began in Ponte and finished with a 17-km climb at an average gradient of 4.8 percent.

Jakob Fuglsang crossed second, one minute and 19 seconds behind, and Ilnur

The drop in the output of the crops subsector in January-March

ROAR

with 40-year-old Tim Duncan struggling for much of the series before scoring 19 points, as San Antonio tried to fight back in the fourth quarter.

Duncan didn’t clear anything up about his future after the game. He has a player option for next season.

“I’ll get to that after I get out of here and figure life out,” he said.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 for the Spurs.

San Antonio lost just once at home during the regular season, but the Thunder beat the Spurs twice in San Antonio during the series.

Oklahoma City opened up a 47-29 lead late in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Westbrook that brought a roar from the crowd.

Durant’s three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in the half pushed the lead to 55-31 at the break.

Durant scored 18 points in the first half and Westbrook added 13.

The Thunder looked like the Spurs often do in the first half, running an efficient offense and shooting 46.5 percent from the field while committing just three turnovers before the break.

It was a season-low point total for the Spurs in a first half. San Antonio shot 31.1 percent from the field before the break and missed all nine of its three-pointers.

“They did a great job of coming out and punching us in the stomach,”Leonard said. “But we got some open looks that didn’t go down, turned over the ball a couple of times, and that’s all on me.”

Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 91-65 at the end of the third quarter.

The veteran Spurs had one last surge left and got as close as 11, but a three-pointer by Westbrook, then a driving lay-up by Westbrook, killed San Antonio’s momentum for good.

“OKC turned it up there and turned our execution into forced bad shots, and then we kind of trickled down from there and it snowballed,” Duncan said. “We put ourselves in the hole. We actually played somewhat solid for the second half but it was too little, too late.”

OKLAHOMA City’s Kevin Durant scores »against San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard. AP

ENERGY OF RIO Staff and

volunteers at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics will be recognizable at venues, thanks to their colorful uniforms unveiled on Thursday. The outfits are in shades of green, blue, yellow and red, which also indicate the function of its wearer.

Red is for medical services, blue for the technical officials (who will also receive a formal uniform), yellow for the operational team and green for those who will interact directly with the public. The colors “transmit the energy of the Olympics, which is the energy we want to transmit to the world,” says Carlos Nuzman, the head of the organizing committee. The Olympics open on August 5, followed by the Paralympics on September 7. AP

SPORTS

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DAY NEAR FLAWLESS IN FIRST ROUND P

ONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida—One birdie led to two more before Jason Day even hit his stride, and his round kept getting better until the world’s No. 1 player was in the record book and in the lead on Thursday at The Players Championship.

He putted for birdie on every hole. His longest putt for par was 30 inches.

Day was as flawless as the morning condition—summer heat, surprising calm.

When he blasted out of a tiny bunker within inches of the cup on his final hole, he had a nineunder 63, a two-shot lead and a fresh memory of the TPC Sawgrass.

His most recent round was an 81 last year to miss the cut. This one tied the course record.

“It just kept on building and building, this round, just one after another,” Day said. “It just got better and better.”

His opening day improved even more after he finished. The Stadium Course was so vulnerable, mainly because of receptive greens and no wind, that 29 players from the morning group shot in the 60s. A strong breeze finally arrived after Day was done, making it difficult for anyone to catch him.

“I don’t know what the guys were doing out there this morning, but I don’t think we saw the same golf course this afternoon,” Rory McIlroy said after a 72. “It was a little firmer, the wind got up a little bit and those guys made the course look awfully easy this morning.”

Jordan Spieth couldn’t say the same. He

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he prolonged dry spell, coupled with the damage caused by typhoons Lando and Nona, resulted in a 4.53-percent decrease in the country’s agricultural output in the first three months of the year, the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

According to the PSA, the growth of the livestock and poultry industry was not able to offset the downturn in the performance of the crops and fisheries subsectors, which was caused by the damage brought about by the prolonged dry spell and the two typhoons that hit the country in late-2015.

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OUR TIME

FARM OUTPUT FELL 4.53% IN Q1 MAINLY DUE TO EL NIÑO

If I had my way, Tetangco would remain beyond his term.”

—Dominguez

Peña to implement smarter Makati all-in-one card

CTING Makati Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña on Sunday said the city government will soon be implementing the smarter Makati all-in-one card (SMAC), which is abreast with the latest General Multipurpose Card (GMPC) technology allowing biometric verifications and strong identification characteristics.

SMAC can be seen as an ordinary health card which can be accepted by the banks as a secure and genuine valid ID card.

The SMAC project is part of Bagong Makati’s continuous efforts to improve and efficiently serve its constituents.

“Providing an all-in-one identification card that shall be used to avail of the various social services being offered by the city government is one of the primary objectives of this project,” Peña said.

“Once implemented, Makati residents will only be using a single multipurpose identification card instead of numerous IDs, like in the case of our elderly citizens.”

The acting mayor said the implementation of SMAC will also eliminate the redundancy in the application process in the government’s different social programs and services.

The first beneficiary of the Phase-1 SMAC, upon its completion, are senior citizens. For ex ample, senior citizens can watch and enjoy their movies in Makati cinemas with just a tap of their SMAC at the movie window teller. PNA

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week

NONIE REYES

media partner of the year

February 2015: The CEO of Petrobras and five directors resign.

Meanwhile, the scope of the investigation widens to look at the bribery of public officials.

December 2014: Criminal charges Here’s a look at Brazil’s ongoing are brought against corruption scandal and political 40 people, many turmoil. connected to August 2014: Brazilian companies, March 17, 2014: including a former Two primary The Federal Police suspects sign executive of initiate Operation Petrobras, Brazil’s a deal to Car Wash, an state-run oil assist in the investigation into investigation. company. money laundering.

played with Day and couldn’t keep up.

In his first tournament since losing a five-shot lead at the Masters, Spieth dropped three shots over his last five holes and labored to a 72. He ended with a double bogey on the par-5 ninth when it took him five shots to get down from a bunker behind the green.

“I hit two fantastic shots,” Spieth said, “and then not really sure after that.”

Masters champion Danny Willett, rusty from a month of being home with a newborn son and a green jacket, opened with a 70.

There were 40 rounds in the 60s and 82 rounds under par, the most at The Players since 1993. Even so, Day was eight shots better than the average score of the strongest and deepest field in golf. AP

RISKY JOB A skyscraper’s glass cleaner polishes one of Makati City’s tall buildings. He is one of the millions of ordinary workers hoping for better wages under the incoming Duterte administration. NONIE REYES

THE YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST Dear Lord, the International Eucharistic Congress is by now a glorious part of our history but its message and challenges remain with us as a task to be carried out in our personal lives and our communities. The Year of the Eucharist goes on, as planned, to be also a way to prolong in our activities the brotherhood/sisterhood that we learned and experienced during the congress. The reception of the Eucharist regularly marks a significant celebration in our daily lives to show our closeness to You, O Lord. Amen!

Word & Life, Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

and Luisa M. Lacson, HFL

Sobrepeña raring to fix MRT in next admin

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he owner of the most congested railway line in Metro Manila is willing to shell out P37.27 billion to fix, improve and modernize the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) and, finally, put an end to the chronic problems of the train system.

Robert John L. Sobrepeña, who chairs MRT Holdings Inc., said in a briefing that his company will revive its earlier proposal to the transport department once Rodrigo R. Duterte has been sworn

PESO exchange rates n US 46.5840

into office this June.

The new proposal, however, is an amended version of its earlier proposal. This offer involves solutions to the projected growth in passenger volume once the train line has been fixed.

“We are extremely happy that we now have a new president-elect; and we are looking forward to dealing with the new government to find a solution to solve the problem of the train system, which is Continued on A2

The proposal is a fast-track rehab, wherein, together with Sumitomo Corp., we will fix the train system in about nine months to a year.”

“The crops subsector suffered the most from the effects of the dry spell, as manifested by the 8.55-percent drop in production during the period,” the report read.

The subsector has a 52.06-percent share in the country’s agricultural production.

Palay production during the first three months of the year declined by 9.97 percent to 3.93 million metric tons (MMT), from 4.37 MMT recorded in the same period in 2015.

The PSA said this can be traced back to the negative effects of Nona in the last quarter of 2015 and the occurrence of dry spell—particularly in Regions 2, 4B, 6 and 12—in the first quarter of the year. There were also reports of crop shifting from palay to sugarcane in Cagayan Valley.

Corn output also decreased during the Januaryto-March period, registering a 19.07-percent drop to 1.92 MMT from 2.37 last year.

The decline in corn production, particularly in Nueva Ecija, was due to the movement of harvest to the second quarter, with the delayed planting of white corn and the reported crop shifting to cassava and sugarcane. The insufficiency in water supply also prompted farmers to make areas for yellow corn lie fallow.

Continued on A2

—Sobrepeña

n japan 0.4273 n UK 67.3372 n HK 6.0037 n CHINA 7.1514 n singapore 33.9459 n australia 34.1228 n EU 53.0079 n SAUDI arabia 12.4221

Source: BSP (13 May 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, May 14, 2016

China, US vie for supporters before South China Sea ruling

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hina and the US are pulling out all the stops before a court ruling on China’s territorial claim to a large part of the South China Sea, with a flurry of diplomatic and military activity across Southeast Asia in recent weeks.

The stakes are high. While the international tribunal’s decision on the case brought against China by the Philippines isn’t enforceable, it could create momentum either for or against Beijing, which has been busy reclaiming land in a waterway that hosts more than $5 trillion of trade a year.

The matter being considered by the tribunal in The Hague more than 10,000 kilometers from the South China Sea goes to the heart of the strategic rivalry between the US and China in the western Pacific.

For China and the US, which is not a claimant but has positioned itself as the champion of freedom of navigation in the area, the race is on to win the support of as many nations —large and small—as possible before the decision is handed down.

“If you think in terms of a chess board, everyone is moving pieces around in anticipation of the next phase of events in the South China Sea emerging from that PCA finding,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra, referring to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The ruling is expected mid-2016.

Senior officials have been busy.

China’s top military officer recently visited Fiery Cross Reef —about 500 km from the Philippines —along with a group of singers to entertain troops. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has roped in Russia and is claiming support from countries as diverse as Gambia, Poland and Qatar for aspects of China’s argument the tribunal has no jurisdiction and disputes should be solved bilaterally.

The country even made a botched effort to get Fiji to back its position, and its ambassadors are demanding outsiders stop meddling.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter joined an aircraft carrier in its patrol of the waters, shortly after agreeing to a beefed

up agreement that lets US troops rotate through military bases in the Philippines for the first time in decades. The USS William P. Lawrence, a warship, sailed this week through the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone around Fiery Cross Reef, where China has completed an airstrip.

Coast guard vessels

The Philippines is only one of several Southeast Asian claimants in the South China Sea—others include Malaysia and Vietnam—but it has been the most vocal. Since it turned to international arbitration in 2013, China has built more than 3,000 acres of land on seven features in the area, and its coast guard and naval vessels have become a more frequent presence.

Part of the diplomatic flurry is aimed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the central voice through which countries in the region speak on the South China Sea. So far, Asean has avoided criticizing China by name, while calling for tensions to be minimized. China is keen to keep it that way—and just needs one Asean member to side with it to do so. China’s trade with Asean in 2014 was more than $360 billion, well above the US. Others, including the US, are stressing the need for a firm, united Asean response to the arbitration ruling.

So Chinese and US diplomats are crisscrossing the region. Wang met leaders of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and Lao PDR, and this week top diplomat Yang Jiechi visited Malaysia and Indonesia. Daniel Russel, the senior US diplomat for East Asia, finished a swing through Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia on May 12. President Barack Obama visits Vietnam this month before traveling to Japan for a Group of Seven summit, where he may seek endorsement of the tribunal’s legitimacy.

If The Hague ruling is not in China’s favor, the country, given its refusal to participate, will almost certainly reject the outcome.

The question then becomes how it responds. At one extreme it may choose to ratchet down tensions by halting construction on the features it already occupies.

At the other end of the scale, it may start building an island on the Scarborough Shoal, seized from the Philippines in 2012, and a prospect raised by chief of naval operations Adm. John Richardson in March.

The uninhabited shoal lies several hundred kilometers from Manila in an otherwise mostly empty area of the South China Sea. Chinese radar, aircraft and missiles based on Scarborough would be able to reach Manila, as well as bases to be used by US forces. Building on the shoal would be the “ final nail in the coffin” for Asean-based efforts to manage the tensions, according to Zack Cooper, a fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington.

A wild card is this week’s election of Rodrigo R. Duterte as Philippine president. Duterte has given mixed messages, indicating he may negotiate with China or, at the other extreme, take a jet ski out to personally lay claim to a disputed feature.

Bloomberg News

If you think in terms of a chess board, everyone is moving pieces around in anticipation of the next phase of events in the South China Sea emerging from that PCA finding.”—Australian Strategic Policy Institute

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DELOSO VOWS TO REPAIR, MODERNIZE ZAMBALES

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BA, Zambales—Newly elected Gov. Amor D. Deloso has vowed to repair the ravaged province of Zambales, it’s natural resources and institutions.

Deloso, who had served Zambales for 15 years, prior to the election of incumbent Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., has obtained an unprecedented 146,257 number of votes against Ebdane’s 112,123.

Deloso’s daughter, lawyer Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, was reelected representative of the Second District

of Zambales. Deloso said Zambales has been mercilessly destroyed by natural calamities, irresponsible mining and by other destruction of its environment.

Various well-established institutions must also be repaired to resuscitate well-cherished values that have been impaired in recent years.

Meanwhile, Deloso called upon citizens from all walks of life to begin the process of healing and unity now that the divisive election is over. Juanuenic Daypun

Deloso

Sobrepeña raring to fix MRT in next admin Continued from A1

critical to solve the congestion along Edsa,” he said. Sobrepeña said he has met with the camp of Duterte and discussed his group’s proposal.

He has yet to meet the future president of the country, but has scheduled a meeting with him next week.

“The only way to solve the problem is to deal with the owners of the train line. We are looking forward to finalizing and negotiating this proposal to the new government,” he said.

Under the three-phased proposal, the private sector will start fixing the train line’s immediate problems, namely, the system’s dilapidated rails, outdated signaling system and its failing train cars.

“The proposal is a fast-track rehab, wherein, together with Sumitomo Corp., we will fix the train system in about nine months to a year,” Sobrepeña said. “This will cost roughly $100 million, and it will bring the system back from where we have left.”

He was referring to the normal and not overly congested phase of the railway line in 2012, when all of the 73 Czech-made trains were still running. Today the official said only half of them are operating along the rails of the 17-kilometer line.

“The next phase involves the upgrade of the whole system, which costs about $400 million. It involves the replacement of all elevators, escalators, and the make over of the stations. We will also buy 48 new cars to double our capacity, so that 1 million to 1.2 million passengers could ride the train system daily,” Sobrepeña said.

The third phase involves the linking of the MRT to the Light

Rail Transit Line 1’s Monumento Station. This would require another $300 million in investment.

“We will also add 48 more train cars, so definitely, we are looking at scenario that most of public commuters could ride the MRT, thereby lessening the buses on Edsa, hence, easing the traffic on the road,” he said.

All these, he added could be completed in a matter of three to three-and-a-half years, almost half of a term of a president.

“We will do all of these without any cost to the government, and without extending our concession period under the build-lease-transfer. Fares will also be based on bus fares,” Sobrepeña said. “The government will not have to spend a single centavo.”

The said contract, signed during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos, will end by 2025. Once the concession expires, the government will own the train system.

The only catch to this proposal is this: the government has to agree to pass on the management of the train line to the group of Sobrepeña through an operations and maintenance contract.

“We still have to negotiate it with the government,” he said.

The Aquino administration has repeatedly ignored the proposals offered by the Sobrepeña group.

It also did not reply to two other proposals from other private companies laid on the table.

Under its proposal, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. will shoulder the upgrade costs of the train system and release the government from the bondage of paying billions of pesos in equity rental payments.

The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, which earlier en-

tered into a partnership agreement with the corporate owner of the MRT, intends to spend $524-million to overhaul the line.

The venture would effectively expand the capacity of the railway system by adding more coaches to each train, allowing it to carry more cars at faster intervals. The multimillion-dollar expansion plan would double the capacity of the line to 700,000 passengers a day from the current 350,000 passengers daily.

It was submitted in 2011, but the transportation agency’s chief back then rejected the proposal.

The group revived its proposal before Congress in 2014.

Sobrepeña met with the group of Pangilinan on Friday afternoon to arrive at a possible joint venture for the rehab and the modernization of the train system.

On the other hand, Schunk is seeking to place whole train system under a massive transformation program to augment its capacity and to provide a safe and comfortable travel to commuters from the northern and southern corridors of Metro Manila.

The P4.64-billion proposal, submitted in February last year with Filipino partner Comm Builders and Technology Phils. Corp., calls for the complete overhaul of the 73 light-rail vehicles of the MRT, the replacement of the rails, the upgrading of the line’s ancillary system, the upgrade of the track circuit and signaling systems, the modernization of the conveyance system and a three-year maintenance contract.

Under the amended build-operatetransfer law, the government has to inform the proponent whether it accepts or rejects an unsolicited proposal within 120 days.

FARM OUTPUT FELL 4.53% IN Q1 MAINLY DUE TO EL NIÑO Continued from A1

“In Maguindanao the harvest areas for corn were totally damaged and smaller corn cobs were developed due to prolonged dry spell. In Northern Mindanao and Soccsksargen provinces reduced planting was reported due to insufficient rainfall and rat infestation,” the report added.

The fisheries subsector, likewise, pulled down the country’s agricultural output in the first quarter of the year.

According to data from the PSA, the subsector, which accounted for 14.92 percent of the total agricultural output, contracted by 5.11 percent.

Lower production levels were noted for all major fish species.

Meanwhile, the local livestock subsector posted a 4.66-percent increase in output during the period.

It accounts for 17.18 percent of the total agricultural output.

Cattle and hog production both went up by 0.49 percent and 5.47 percent, respectively. High demand was attributed to the increase in the output of both sectors. Carabao production went down by 1.43 percent and goat production inched down by 0.15 percent.

The country’s poultry subsector also registered a growth of 1.01 percent. Duck, chicken-egg and duck-egg production all posted increases in output, while chicken production slightly decreased by 0.29 percent.

“Among the reasons cited [for the decrease in chicken production] were the notable delays in loading of day-old chicks in broiler farms in Ilocos Region and Central Luzon due to scare of New Castle Disease,” the report read.

Ilocos region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley reported damage due to the New Castle Disease. The hot weather also contributed to the lower liveweight of chicken.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala earlier said the government will maintain its agricultural growth target of 3.5 percent despite the onslaught of the current El Niño episode. He said the advantage of the livestock sector, as well as the efforts of the government to pursue the hybridization of crops will drive the sector’s growth this year.

Alcala explained the Department of Agriculture’s hybridization program helped scale down the damage caused by El Niño.

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Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon • Saturday, May 14, 2016 A3

GSIS Bank failed to attract buyers, ordered closed

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t had been long in coming but, finally, on Friday, the boom was lowered on the GSIS Family Bank, whose operations had been ordered closed by the policy-making Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The 22-unit lender is fully owned by the Government Service Insurance System, whose management came to an earlier decision to sell the bank to foreign or local interests.

The Monetary Board on Friday placed GSIS Family under receivership by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), its operations having been declared insolvent where its liabilities exceed its resources such that the lender is unable to service what it owes its creditors.

According to the PDIC, GSIS Family Bank has total deposit liabilities reaching only P974.81 million in 14,507 accounts.

A little over 80 percent of the deposits are covered by statutory insurance.

In a statement, the PDIC said that during the takeover, all bank records shall be gathered, verified and validated. The state deposit insurer assured depositors all valid deposits shall be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000.

Depositors with valid deposit accounts with balances of P100,000 and below shall be eligible for early payment and need not file deposit-insurance claims, except accounts maintained by business entities, or when they have outstanding obligations with GSIS Family Bank or acted as comakers of these obligations. Depositors have to ensure that they have complete and updated addresses with the bank.

The PDIC will start mailing payments to these depositors at their addresses recorded in the bank no later than the first week of June 2016.

Depositors may update their addresses until May 24, using the Mailing Address Update Forms to be distributed by PDIC representatives at the bank premises.

For depositors that are required to file deposit insurance claims, the PDIC will start claims-settlement operations for these accounts by third week of June.

Earlier efforts to dispose of the GSIS Family Bank were initially hopeful of attracting at least P501 million from potential strategic partners, foreign or local.

There have been indications some of the local boys wanted to take on the thrift lender, such as the Gokongweiowned Robinsons Bank, also a thrift bank, as well as the Philippine Business Bank and even the Union Bank, owned by the Aboitiz family of Cebu province.

The GSIS leadership pointed out there were obvious advantages to buying lender and its 22 branches, such as its status as a government-depositor institution.

The thrift unit also has license to open 20 more branches for those intending to make the purchase.

In the end, none of these mattered to the potential buyers who took the trouble to do a due diligence audit and finally forced GSIS management to shut down its operations and put the lender under receivership.

The PDIC also announced that it will conduct Depositors-Borrowers’ Forums from May 25 to 27. Those not eligible for early payment will be informed of the requirements and procedures for filing deposit insurance claims. The time and venue of the Forum will be posted on the bank’s premises and announced in the PDIC web site, www.pdic.gov.ph. Likewise, the schedule of the claims settlement operations, as well as the requirements and procedures for filing claims, will be announced through notices to be posted in the bank premises, other public places and the PDIC web site.

PHL, France bolster mutual defense agreement

By Rene Acosta

F

REPAIRS AT CONGRESS Workers do some repair jobs at the House of Representatives in preparation for the opening session in Congress. NONOY LACZA

WB to give PHL $67M for 2 power projects

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

T

HE World Bank (WB) is extending the country financial support worth $67 million (P3.08 billion) for two projects in the energy sector.

In a statement, the WB said $44 million worth of this assistance represents a guarantee for the Philippines Renewable Energy Project (PhRED).

The remaining $23 million will be for a grant for the Access to Sustainable Energy Project (Asep).

“Having electricity in the remote areas of the country means that children will be able to study their lessons at night, and their parents can also have more opportunities to earn money from entrepreneurial activities,” WB Philippines Country Director Mara Warwick said.

“Initiatives like these can help address poverty and promote shared prosperity.”

The PhRED aims to help reduce risks of commercial lending to electric cooperatives. The World Bank said the guarantee will enable these cooperatives to expand their electricity network, invest in renewable energy, like small hydroelectric and solarpower plants, and expand electricity

access for poor households.

The Philippines Renewable Energy Project will provide more financial resources to an existing financial guarantee program of the government, the Electric Cooperative Partial Credit Guarantee program.

Implemented by the Local Government Unit (LGU) Finance Corp., the program has been providing credit guarantees since 2004 to commercial banks in the Philippines that extend loans to electric cooperatives.

PhRED is funded by the Clean Technology Fund under the Climate Investments Funds administered by the World Bank. These provide resources for promoting low-carbon technologies to help mitigate climate change. The World Bank statement also quoted Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada as saying the guarantee can allow electric cooperatives to play a large role in the government’s plan to achieve full electrification.

“The government provides electrification grants to the electric cooperatives, but these cover only a portion of overall investment needs. Commercial loans are essential for strengthening electricity distribution networks, and banks look to the guarantee provided

by PhRED to help manage their risks in providing significant funding amounts to the sector,” Monsada said.

The Asep grant is designed to help bring solar power to remote communities and islands not connected to the electricity grid managed by electric cooperatives.

Asep is funded by the European Union, as a portion of their total support to the Department of Energy amounting to €60 million. The Global Partnership for Output-Based Aid, a partnership that funds initiatives for improving the delivery of basic services to the poor in developing countries, is also contributing $3 million, specifically for the solarhome systems component of the project.

“Asep complements grid electrification by investing in solar home systems,” Monsada said. ”This will allow electric cooperatives to meet their electrification targets in a more viable fashion by enabling them to avoid uneconomic line extensions while still providing electricity to remote, poor households.”

The World Bank said the PhRED and Asep will be implemented by LGU Guarantee Corp., a private entity owned by the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.

Ombudsman files criminal charges vs 6 DBM execs

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RED CABBAGE FLOODS BAGUIO

Vegetable dealers in the Baguio City public market show the red cabbage ready for delivery to the lowland markets, including Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The red cabbage came from Mountain Province and now costs P50 per kilo. MAU VICTA

@reneacostaBM

HE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of criminal charges against six officials of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in connection with the purchase of substandard inflatable rubber boats in 2010.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales accused Undersecretary Evelyn Guererro, Director IV Lourdes Santiago, Procurement Management Officer V Julieta Lozano, Procurement Management Officer III Mervin Ian Tanquintic, Administrative Assistant III Alvin John

Perater and ad hoc member Lt. Malone Agudelo of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Morales said also included in the charge sheet is Anthony Hernandez of JOAVI Philippines Corp. (JOAVI).

Morales said several procurement violations in the acquisition of the rubber boats were uncovered, such as JOAVI’s noncompliance with the DBM-Procurement Service technical specifications. The rubber boats were not equipped with intercommunication or inflation valves, overpressure valves and roll-up floor.

“These include the design of the boats as a sports model and not as a military model; and the submission of falsified technical evaluation report and postqualification report,” she added.

Section 3(e) of RA 3019 punishes a public officer who, in the discharge of his official functions, acts with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence causing undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

RANCE and the Philippines have bolstered their defense cooperation by signing an agreement where they agreed to commonly work on areas and issues involving defense and security.

The defense agreement, whose negotiations began in 2014, was signed on Wednesday by Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and France Ambassador to the Philippines Thierry Mathou.

In a statement, the Philippine Department of National Defense said the agreement would serve as a framework for defense cooperation between the two countries, and it came as the Philippine military is building up its capabilities.

Under the framework, both countries agreed to cooperate on high-level dialogues and defense policy consultations, visits of defense and armed forces authorities, education and training exchanges and cooperation in the fields of defense equipment, logistics and the defense industry.

“Our relationship would be further enhanced as we institutionalize our cooperation through this agreement,” Gazmin said during the signing ceremony.

He said the agreement was very timely, given the increasing defense and security challenges that both countries are facing. The defense department said the cooperation provided for in the agreement could enhance the two countries’ defense capacities and capabilities essential in addressing such challenges.

It also said the agreement would allow France and the Philippines to cooperate even in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime security and counterterrorism.

“Now that the agreement has been signed, we could start working on its implementation. I am optimistic we would be able to draw up a tangible cooperation pursuant to this agreement in the near future,” Gazmin said.

Duterte wants Tetangco back on economic team Continued from A1

Dominguez also assured that Amando

Tetangco Jr. would remain as the BSP governor: “That’s a constitutional body; you cannot touch that. And if I had my way, Tetangco would remain beyond his term. He’s done well.”

Tetangco, hailed one of the world’s best central bankers for seven consecutive years by the Global Finance magazine, is expected to step down in 2017, with the expiration of his six-year term. It is his second and last appointment as BSP chief.

Under his stewardship at the BSP, inflation rates in the Philippines have dropped to historic lows, while gross international reserves are at their highest levels.

Last Thursday the Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the BSP, decided to maintain its key policy rates at 4 percent for overnight borrowing, and 6 percent for overnight lending.

Duterte had earlier fingered the BSP and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC),

which is chaired by Tetangco, as the source of information used by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to accuse the then-presidential candidate of hiding illegal wealth in several local bank accounts. Duterte had also threatened both institutions that they would be “in hot water,” if he wins the national elections. The BSP and the AMLC subsequently denied this charge

by Duterte.

Meanwhile, Dominguez said, “tourism will be one of the priorities in our rural-development program,” which forms part of the incoming administration’s eight-point economic agenda. He stressed that “not only should tourism in the big cities be promoted, but also in the rural areas. The Philippines is a beautiful country, and we intend to leverage on this strength to boost economic growth.”

But he said the hunt is still on who should head the Department of Tourism (DOT), as well as other key government agencies, such as the departments of Agriculture (DA), Energy and Transportation and Communications, etc. He said he

already had spoken with Ramon Jimenez Jr., and asked him to remain as tourism secretary, “but he declined the offer, owing to personal reasons.” He said Jimenez was still mourning the recent passing of his wife, Abi Lee Jimenez, an advertising pioneer like her husband.

It was under Jimenez’s leadership that the DOT had crafted its award-winning country brand “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”; established a convergence program with the Department of Public Works and Highways that identified tourism sites that needed vital road networks and public infrastructure, and twice mounted Madrid Fusión Manila, the largest gastronomic congress in Asia.

Tourism sources intimated that Duterte’s policy of keeping Davao safe while he was mayor has enabled the city’s tourism sector to grow. The tourism industry is, likewise, close to Dominguez’s heart, as he owns two hotels—Marco Polo in Davao City and Linden Suites in the Ortigas Central Business District. He is also a partner in Microtel UP TechnoHub in

Diliman and Microtel Eagle Ridge, Cavite.

Under the Aquino administration, foreign-visitor arrivals grew by a compounded annual rate of 8.77 percent from 2010 to 2015, higher than the 7.76 percent achieved from 2001 to 2010. International tourism receipts also showed a dramatic twofold surge from P112.55 billion in 2010 to P227.62 billion in 2015.

Last year total inbound tourists rose by some 11 percent to 5.36 million, while international visitor receipts were up by 3.3 percent to P235 billion.

In 2015 tourism employment was estimated to have reached some 5 million, with a share of 12.7 percent to national employment. The DOT is currently finalizing its new tourism road map, the National Tourism Development Plan for 2017-2022, which will set the new annual domestic and international visitors targets, as well as outline the programs and schemes to reach those goals. The new plan will be presented to the incoming tourism secretary in July.

DUTERTE FAN Tony Paulite, proprietor of Anthoniuz Flowers in Baguio City, has a friend paint a henna tattoo on his back of President-elect winner Rodrigo R. Duterte. MAU VICTA

A4 Saturday, May 14, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Defending Philippine sovereignty

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ith the dozens of articles in the international press wailing about the possibility of Filipinos electing Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte as president, we take some satisfaction of sticking it in the eye of the foreigners.

Of course, these feelings are childish and immature. But, honestly, we are fed up with the hypocrisy and double standards in the global arena. And it does not matter much if a nation is poor or rich, powerful or weak.

United States presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to secure the US border with Mexico by building a wall. Even Pope Francis weighs in by saying, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Yet, there is no similar comment, as Mexico has been building its own walls on its southern border with Guatemala since 2010.

While Duterte’s comment about Australia to stay out of Philippine politics was not any justification for his own crude remarks, sometimes you have to push back. We thought at the time that President Aquino calling Chinese behavior as being similar to Nazi Germany might not have been good diplomacy. But bullies need to be challenged with strong language.

The Philippines has often been shy and hesitating in promoting its own sovereignty. It took strength to push back against both the Americans and the government of then-President Cory Aquino to reject the US bases agreement. The US wanted the agreement on its terms and, finally, the Philippines said no.

Sovereignty is critical to nationhood, and should never be mistaken for arrogant nationalism. But being soft on sovereignty is a mistake.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking at a college commencement, said: “You’re about to graduate into a complex and borderless world.” The broader context of this statement is that no longer should nations be as concerned about sovereignty in the age of globalization.

This may be one of the most irresponsible and dangerous ideas uttered in many, many decades.

In a “borderless” world, only the most powerful make the rules, as we are seeing with China. It would be interesting to see the US reaction if China started drilling for oil in Alaskan coastal waters in light of Kerry’s comment.

Secure territory is what defines a nation, as your own locked door defines your home whether rich or poor.

The image of the president of the Philippines riding a jet ski to plant the Philippine flag on disputed territory now occupied by China may seem absurd, and even ridiculous. In the afternoon of June 12, 1898, a group of Filipinos did something, perhaps, equally absurd and ridiculous at the time.

Forcefully declaring national sovereignty is not an act of foolish pride. It is an act of self-confidence. Imagine what today’s foreign press might have written when a year later the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the US.

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Duterte’s 8-point economic agenda John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

D

isappointment with President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte’s economic outline, as offered by Carlos Dominguez the other day, was not surprising. I suppose certain people expected something more along the lines of Moses bringing down the tablets from Mount Sinai or Colonel Sanders’s secret chicken recipe.

From my standpoint, though, it was exactly what I wanted to hear as a broad outline.

The first point—“Continue and maintain the current macroeconomic policies”— is the most critical and the foundation for everything else that might follow. The Philippine economy is on a sound footing, only because of two things regarding the government’s fiscal management. The macroeconomic policy of keeping a low government debt as a percentage of GDP is unique in this world of government spending through borrowing. Second, the government budget deficit as a percentage of GDP shows that the govern-

ment is not spending money that it does not have.

If you want the Philippine economy to grow at 10 percent next year, all the government has to do is borrow enough money from the foreigners to give each Filipino P100,000.

Then what would happen?

The government must keep its financial house in order and, if that first point is followed, all will be well.

Point 2: “Accelerate spending on infrastructure by addressing major bottlenecks, and maintain the target of setting aside 5 percent of the GDP to infrastructure spending.” The Public-Private Partnership Program is a disaster that should not have

Another part of the agenda is to “improve tax system by indexing tax collection to inflation rate.”

There is no clue as to what this really means, but that is not important to me now. When I hear the words “indexing” and “inflation” when applied to taxes, I know there is a good chance for a better taxation system. been allowed to happen. Now, time to move on properly.

The proposed Public Partnership Act, as House Bill 6331, needs to be passed quickly in whatever final form is the best. Perhaps, the president could also appoint someone like the character of “Rick” in the TV show The Walking Dead to get things done at the Department of Transportation and Communications and at the Department of Public Works and Highways. No one argues with Rick; not even the zombies.

Another part of the agenda is to “improve tax system by indexing tax collection to inflation rate.”

There is no clue as to what this really means, but that is not important

to me now. When I hear the words “indexing” and “inflation,” when applied to taxes, I know there is a good chance for a better taxation system.

While not a direct economic policy, “Expand and improve implementation of the Conditional CashTransfer Program” is very important.

This—along with the expansion of PhilHealth—is the best legacy of the Aquino administration.

Finally, while I am cautious about government-provided “scholarships for tertiary education,” which can be used for political gains, I like the part of this that reads “which are relevant to private employers’ needs.” I see the potential for genuine cooperation between government providing the money and companies providing the mentoring and the jobs.

The rest of the agenda sounds nice, but is without much context and substance at this point. But for the few days since the elections, we are already way ahead of where we were at this time six years ago.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Slow growth ahead?

The Philippine economy may have overshot

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By Richard Mills | Asia CEO Forum Chairman

E all know the Philippine economy is one of the strongest in Southeast Asia over the past few years. Some even say it is the fastest-growing major economy in the entire Asian region with nothing but good times ahead.

At least, that is what we all believe.

But a recent paper written by a young researcher indicates the Philippine economy is due for a period of slower growth, and may have already been decelerating along with much of the rest of the world.

Christopher Mills analyzed the performance of seven of the country’s largest conglomerates and compared them to the overall economy.

The data he used were publicly audited financial statements of Aboitiz Group, Alliance Global Group, Ayala Corp., DMCI Holdings, JG Summit Holdings, San Miguel Corp. and SM Investments.

He initially showed that the averaged revenues of the seven conglomerates are very highly correlated to the overall Philippine economy. In mathematical terms, they had a correlation coefficient above 0.95 (where 1 is perfect correlation). This makes complete sense, since the nation is dominated by these organizations, and their success is critical to the economic success of the Filipino nation and vice versa.

Christopher Mills analyzed the performance of seven of the country’s largest conglomerates and compared them to the overall economy. The data he used were publicly audited financial statements of Aboitiz Group, Alliance Global Group, Ayala Corp., DMCI Holdings, JG Summit Holdings, San Miguel Corp. and SM Investments.

When the researcher next analyzed growth rates over the past few years, he found a striking divergence.

While the general economy showed a trend of increasing growth rates, the audited statements of its seven large conglomerates showed decreasing trend lines. Clearly, the two cannot diverge for long based on mathematical analysis and common sense.

Mills also studied profitability measures for the seven conglomerates, and found similarly disturbing trends. Both return-on-assets and return-on-equity have been in clear

decline over the same period.

Given the large spending by political candidates leading up to the recent election, the results make no sense. This spending should have powered up an already strong economy and the financial results of the large conglomerates.

The researcher’s analysis can only indicate the Philippine economy is headed for slower growth ahead. Now that the election spending is finished, this reality could become more apparent in the coming months.

Ideally, the new president will not have to make revisions on past economic growth numbers but if that is the case, that bullet should be bit as soon as possible. We also hope he will be gentle on the past administration that is handing over a nation in the best condition it has ever been in history.

Copies of the research paper by Christopher Mills are available (E-mail me at leaders@chalre.com). The author encourages others to both confirm and expand upon his results.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Growth under Duterte administration

Truth meets Mercy: The Veritas Jubilee Pilgrimage Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

SERVANT LEADER

Jemain Diaz de Rivera

Forward Moving

W

E all started the week voting for a man or woman who can solemnly swear that he or she will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill the duties of president of the Philippines, preserve and defend our Constitution, execute our laws, do justice to every man and consecrate themselves to the service of the nation and the Filipino people.

We prayed that God help us all build a just and humane society, and establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.

We end the week waiting for the Commission on Elections to finish canvassing votes but, based on the quick count, we know the presumptive president is Rodrigo R. Duterte. nnn

Before and during the campaign, Mayor Duterte said he would like income equal to or less than P25,000 to be exempt from income tax; to increase the pay of teachers, police officers and military men; to promote the economy by providing needed infrastructure, like a train system to and from Clark International Airport, and build much needed roads and bridges all over the country; to industrialize our economy by reviving the steel industry; and to mitigate poverty by prioritizing education.

Duterte also noted that the Philippines has one of the slowest Internet service, having the second to the lowest download speed among 22 other Asian countries.

He promised to personally talk to the telecommunications companies about the poor Internet service and “order” them to upgrade. He will invite foreign investors to enter the market to provide more options for the consumers.

He would consider the use of nuclear power to resolve the growing power crisis, tapping all available sources of energy. Though there will be benefits, Duterte noted that the government should be cautious of the dangers of using nuclear power.

The shortfall in the delivery of energy, especially in Mindanao, must be resolved.

Climate change must also be taken into context. He admitted coal use must be limited, and that the country should look into other sources of energy other than fossil fuels. The best way to address climate change is to address hunger, price of goods, job availability

and income. Duterte will address both climate change and economics by providing jobs and instilling discipline in those involved in mining, logging and the emission of carbon. nnn

The Philippine information technology and business-process management (IT-BPM) industry is one of the biggest contributors to the Philippine GDP. It breached targets end of last year, generating an estimate of almost $22 billion in revenues and 1.1 million direct employment.

It is the country’s fastest-growing industry. By the end of this year, it estimated that it would have a revenue of $25 billion.

Investors first came to the Philippines because they were attracted by the country’s desire to build the IT-BPM market, the great personality and character of the Filipinos, the culture, and willingness to work.

Today they are getting real thought leadership from the teams in terms of best practices.

The industry has sought government support to address hindrances to its growth target, such as education, power supply and infrastructure.

A successful partnership with the Commission on Higher Education to provide a service management program being offered in 17 state universities helped IT-BPM hit its full time employment and revenue targets. nnn

There continues to be a need to develop the Philippines’s talent pool to address the skills-job mismatch.

Funding for more scholarships is needed to prepare more graduates for their entry into the sector.

The industry is working on a new road map beyond 2016, setting new goals and strategies to secure the leadership of the Philippine IT-BPM industry in the global shared services sector. The new road map covers 2016 through 2022. The industry will revise upward its 2022 revenue and employment projection, which is set to be announced in August, and presented to the next administration and the public. nnn

Together we vote, we pray, we continue to work in building a just and humane society of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.

Saturday, May 14, 2016 A5

“I come as a pilgrim of peace and an apostle of hope.”—Pope Francis

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E would like to invite all the listeners of Radio Veritas, our kapanalig, to take part in the upcoming Veritas Jubilee of Mercy pilgrimage on May 29.

As part of the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Radio Veritas will visit the designated Churches of Mercy in the Archdiocese of Manila, namely, the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Intramuros, Manila; Santuario de Santo Cristo, San Juan City; Archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy, Mandaluyong City; Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Pasay City; and National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Makati City.

In the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy,

Misericordiae Vultus, His Holiness Pope Francis emphasized the importance of pilgrimage in the Holy Year.

“The practice of pilgrimage has a special place in the Holy Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life.... This will be a sign that mercy is also a goal to reach and requires dedication and sacrifice. May pilgrimage be an impetus to conversion: by crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, we will find the strength to embrace God’s mercy and dedicate ourselves to being merciful with others as the Father has been with us,” Pope Francis said.

In his letter, “According to which an indulgence is granted to the faithful on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy,” Pope Francis also said that, to experience and to obtain the Indulgence, the faithful are called to make a brief pilgrimage to the Holy Door, open in every Cathedral or in the churches designated by the Diocesan Bishop, as a sign of the deep desire for true conversion.

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, the faithful must commit to avoiding all sins, even venial; sacramentally confess their sins; receive the Holy Communion; and pray for the Pope and his prayer intentions.

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy announced by His Holiness Pope Francis is a Roman Catholic period of grace, peace, conversion and joy held from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016. The Holy Year of Mercy is a time for remission of sins and universal pardon focusing particularly on God’s forgiveness and mercy. It is the 27th Holy Year in history, following the ordinary Jubilee in 2000.

Elections over but not the count Teddy Locsin Jr.

Free fire

T

HE elections are over; the fat ladies have sung; one of them even landed in the winning senatorial slate. The presidency is filled

by Rodrigo “Rody” R. Duterte. Only the vice presidency is still hanging, and it is by a thread. But it must be said that dangling from that thread are two highly probable winners: Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, whose candidacy swept like wildfire across the islands, and Ma. Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, who started like a little spark trying to set fire to a few twigs, but soon it was a Canadian forest fire.

She began flat at the bottom of the surveys. It was painful to watch her shyness, but not for long. Within two months she was, not numerically, but statistically neck and neck with Bongbong Marcos. Not neck-to-neck, which conjures a disturbing image of the pair in the backseat of a car.

Soon Leni was striding the stage like a champion, treading the floorboards lightly like a—how politely can I say this of a lady? Let’s see.

No, not a heavyweight. Her figure’s faboolous. Let’s say like a light middleweight boxer. And she was saying, not what her running mate was saying to his own doom, but quite the opposite. Soon she was treating every stage she walked on, and talked from, like it was her…I wouldn’t say living room. Polite people do not declaim there—but in the shade of a tree with her neighbors. Still, Bongbong Marcos was ahead. And then the election happened.

As expected, Bongbong shot to the top of the count; and as expected, Leni was right behind him, biting his

tail. Not a polite image. But then she overtook him—first by 50,000; and now by over 200,000.

While this was going on, some pretty funny names topped the winning senatorial slate. Now, Risa Hontiveros was rightly up there, after languishing far below in one election and coming within spitting distance in the next. Persistence paid in her case and she had a lot of it. But be all that as it may—although I doubt that Technical Education and Skills Development Authority graduated 17 million bartenders, the numbers of the winning slate never changed.

Everyone stayed exactly in their first assigned places; with Franklin M. Drilon and Tesda Boy (Joel Villanueva) changing places as if to avert suspicion. But the changing numbers for Leni and for Bongbong did not disturb the stagnant numbers of the winning senatorial slate that was frozen in place. It is as if the electorate had conspired to give the same number of votes to all 12 candidates—about 16 million. Now we

Margaret Carlson

BLOOMBERG VIEW

I

n the days leading up to Donald Trump’s much-ballyhooed courtesy call to Capitol Hill on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan seemed like a groom wanting his presumptive bride to change before he does. “This is the party of [Abraham] Lincoln, of [Ronald] Reagan, of Jack Kemp,” he said on CNN, letting it be known that the presumptive nominee still had a lot of explaining to do before he could get an endorsement from the top Republican-elected official.

“What a lot of Republicans want to see is that we have a standard bearer that bears our standards.”

Duterte, by knocking out vote-counting machines in parts of Mindanao, the Visayas, Luzon and all of Metro Manila, including Quezon City, the cheaters gave up. They turned their attention to lesser positions, like the VP and the Senate, Congress and local officials. But if we leave it at that, then basically, we should hold incontestably honest elections only for the president and let him appoint all the rest. That would be cheaper.

No, the burden is entirely on the Comelec to answer each and every concern. No burden lies on the suspicious to substantiate their suspicions. But what about the presumption of innocence? Doesn’t that extend to the Comelec? Sure, if you went to a lousy local law school. The presumption of innocence does not apply to institutions nor to anything or anybody else, but an individual accused until he is found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt in a court of law after a fair trial.

What about the lesser presumption of governmental regularity?

Again, if you went to the right law school, that does not mean that government acts are presumptively regular. It merely begs the question whether government acts are regular, when the irregular is the new normal like now.

So by all means demand the answers to all objections, allay all fears, dispel all suspicions, and if need be recount the vice-presidential election—and if you ask me the senatorial, as well. Because a republic cannot long live with a fundamental mistrust of itself, with the selfconsuming suspicion that people en banc are laughing behind their ample sleeves all the way to the bank.

“a great day in D.C....things working out really well.” Trump later went to Jones, Day, the law firm representing his campaign, sparking speculation that former Secretary of State James Baker, in attendance, could be on his list of vice-presidential choices.

Even if Trump had chosen to praise or adopt part of Ryan’s agenda, it wouldn’t mean much. He is inconsistent, even by the lax standards of politicians. He will jettison any-

thing he wants—tariffs on China, a ban on Muslims (he already refers to it as temporary), maybe even saving entitlements, getting Mexico to pay for a wall and his bromance with Vladimir Putin. He may end up liking other things, such as tax increases and the Iran deal. But who knows?

Not even Trump himself, it seems, can predict what he will do or say.

Just when Republicans thought they were getting close to getting some closure, the pain keeps coming. The awkward first date on Capitol Hill just added to the anguish of a week in which Trump announced this week that he intends to “put some showbiz” into the July convention in Cleveland and continued to weave and bob about releasing his tax returns, potentially becoming the first major party nominee in 40 years to refuse to do so. He’s not a Lincoln, Reagan, Kemp or Ryan Republican.

He’s a Donald Trump Republican.

The final stage of grief for Republicans is: Get used to it.

Not even a glimmer of such clarity emerged on Thursday. The joint statement that followed the meeting was carefully worded to give the appearance of cordiality but also made clear that the standard bearer’s standards remain a work in progress.

“While we were honest about

our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground.” Trump and Ryan said. They will keep talking and are confident “there’s a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall.”

So nothing got done, but they

TRUMP

gether in 45 minutes.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, a bland broker who produced a report after the 2012 shellacking that predicted irrelevance and doom if the party didn’t move to a place exactly opposite to Trump’s, told CNN the meeting was “great.”

Great was the meme of the day.

Trump, unusually quiet after, tweeted a couple of hours later that it was

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are expected to leave it at that. All the while more votes keep coming in the vice-presidential race.

Now, while it is true that the position of vice president is nothing, and that, if Leni gets it, she will not lend herself to a doomed impeachment planned by those who picked her only as an afterthought, who planned to junk her for Francis G. Escudero until her numbers were too high, and who so maltreated her husband they may have contributed to his death. For sure, they made sure she could not take immediate political advantage of it. They denied her a slot in their sure-to-win 2013 senate slate. They were resolved that she was nothing and she would stay that way so as not to challenge anybody else’s ambition.

But whether you are for Leni or for Marcos, their votes must be recounted just the same in order to answer any suspicion about how and from where their respective votes came. This has nothing to do with either one or with martial law or the legacy of Corazon “Cory” Aquino, which is safe with the likes of us. It has everything to do with an election system that is totally out of the control of people, both voters and BEIs, and entirely in the control of nobody can say.

It is said that any irregularities or peculiarities in the conduct or count of the automated election must be substantiated by those who point them out. Only idiots say that. The only duty of voters is to point out seeming irregularities—and immediately the onus shifts to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain them away—but never, never, never to brush them off. It is possible that, after trying in vain to eliminate the tremendous lead of

Trump just won’t tell Republicans he’s one of them will keep at it. According to those on the periphery, Trump was in ubercharming mode after hamming it up for the crowd outside party headquarters on Capitol Hill on his way in, as if he were still campaigning.

He wasn’t making any concessions.

Since essentially wrapping up nomination, his preferred analogy is that he’s won the pennant, the fans love him, so why would he change his fastball for the World Series?

He is critical of Ryan’s first marriage to Mitt Romney and blames Ryan for its failure. He is fond of saying that the speaker doomed the 2012 ticket with his promises to “cut the hell out of your Social Security.”

Ryan would still trim Medicare and Social Security to save them; Trump would leave them alone. That’s a hard difference to paper over.

Later in the day, Ryan said he would still be keeping the details “private,” but commented that when it comes to unifying the party, “It takes some time, you don’t put it to-

Deadline of registration is on May 21 at the Radio Veritas studios at 162 West Avenue corner Edsa, Quezon City. A P1,200 registration fee will be applied to all the participants and for the fullpledged kapanalig members a discounted registration fee of P1,000 will be applied. The registration fee is inclusive of transportation, lunch and snack, and love offering to the chaplain.

Radio Veritas 846, the leading faith-based AM radio station in Mega Manila, is owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Manila.

Established in 1969, the Ramon Magsaysay recipient Catholic radio station continues to be the leading social communications ministry for truth and evangelization in the country today.

News

BusinessMirror

A6 Saturday, May 14, 2016 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Smartmatic on carpet for tampering with PPCRV’s transparency server

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By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

RANKING official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday assailed the poll body’s computer-service provider Smartmatic International for meddling in the country’s electoral process when it accessed the programming script of the transparency server used in receiving electronically transmitted elections results to apply some “cosmetic changes” without authorization from the commission.

Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said she would ask the Comelec en banc to conduct a formal investigation into the incident and to determine Smartmatic’s liabilities for breaching protocols.

Guanzon admitted that she was shocked when she found out that Smartmatic altered a line in the programming script of the transparency server at the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) to change “?” character to “ñ”.

“This automated election system is not owned by Smartmatic, it is owned by the Comelec, representing the people of the Philippines, it is owned by the government. They were not supposed to change anything without our knowledge and permission,” the official said.

She, however, insisted that the election results being transmitted to the PPCRV were not affected despite the change in the script, which

also resulted in the alteration of the hashcode.

The Comelec earlier said the hashcode is the assurance that whatever has been tested and certified will be the same in the machines that will be used in the elections.

Guanzon added she will review the service contract that the Comelec signed with Smartmatic in order to determine possible sanctions that can be imposed against Smartmatic for the breach.

“They have a performance bond that we can hold. We can also… I can vote to refuse payment unless I’m satisfied that the breach was benign,” Guanzon cited as among the penalties.

“I believe that Smartmatic has breached our protocol and they should be held accountable for it. I, personally, along with another commissioner, will request for a formal investigation of this matter so that we can determine if Smartmatic has

financial and other liabilities under their contract for breaching the protocol,” she said.

“What they should have done was, if they saw an error, they should have asked the [commission] en banc for permission first, explained the problem and then explained the solution. And if these were acceptable to us, then we would have given the permission to do the changes,” she added.

Guazon said the Comelec will also investigate its personnel who provided Smartmatic part of the password that allowed the company to access the transparency server.

“We can assure you that the commissioners are going to study this and we will investigate even our people, if they have some omissions there or malfeasance, we will get to the bottom of it,” she added.

“We will have to look at their [Smartmatic’s] contract. I have already asked the director of legal services to send me their contract and we will see if the breach is enough to disqualify them from bidding in future contracts. I will vote so.”

Comelec Chairman Andres O. Bautista said the incident happened on May 9 at around 7:00 p.m. at the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) Center at the Pope Pius Center in Manila.

He said an observer called the attention of Comelec informationtechnology officer Rouie Peñalba, who was stationed at the PPCRV Center about the presence of certain question marks in some candidates’ names where the “ñ” should have appeared.

Penalda notified Smartmatic Technical Support team led by Marlon Garcia about the concern.

Upon being notified by the Comelec and after validating that changing “?” character required a minor

Guanzon

cosmetic change to appear, the observers at the PPCRV Transparency Center and the Smartmatic Technical Support Team addressed the concern by introducing on the script.

Bautista said, the Comelec IT officer and Smartmatic technical team announced to everyone present inside the PPCRV Transparency Center that the corection was made and all subsequent data packages would reflect the candidate’s names with “ñ” instead of “?”.

Smartmatic Project Director Elie Moreno admitted that their project manager Marlon Garcia was the one who made the change in the script.

The incident prompted the camp of vice-presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to insinuate that the results for the vice presidential race were being rigged to favor his rival, Liberal Party Rep. Ma. Leonor Robredo of Camarines Sur. Marcos and Robredo are neck and neck in the vice presidential race.

Marcos’s lawyers have asked the Comelec to explain the changes made in the programming script of the transparency server.

In a separate news briefing on Friday, Garcia insisted that the changes that were made in the transparency server on May 9 were done in a complete transparent manner.

Garcia also implied that the

changes were made with proper authority from the Comelec, which holds half of the password in gaining access to the program, with the other in Smartmatic’s possession.

“There are certain issues that we should elevate to the Comelec en banc. If there are major changes in the system that has a big impact or has financial repercussions, we have to escalate it to the en banc. If it is operational or technical, the Project Management Office can decide on it.

It has been the established system since Day One,” Garcia said But Guanzon did not agree with Garcia, saying that it is Comelec that interprets the contract and not the Smartmatic.

“He is not the client, we are the client, we interpret the contract. We interpret the contract in favor of the government and, in case of doubt, that contract should be interpreted in favor of the Comelec,” she added.

“I am still saying that this is unauthorized. This was unauthorized and it doesn’t change a thing that they were given part of the password or one password because they asked for it. That initiative to change minor thing did not come from Comelec it came from them, for they had the last touch on that program,” Guazon stressed.

Elections Commissioner Robert S. Lim also admitted that Smartmatic committed lapses in the protocol as it instituted a correction on the script without formally informing the poll body.

“In fact, even before effecting the change, they should have also announced it to the parties there that they are going to effect the change.

There are lapses in the protocol,” Lim said.

Lim noted that the change was made and the parties were informed after the change was made.

Philippine Embassy in Washington Winners look to a better ARMM delivers OAV results to NBOC W

WASHINGTON, D.C’.s Special Board of Canvassers shuts down the Canvassing and Consolidation System for the United States and the Caribbean. Photo courtesy of

T

HE Certificate of Canvass accounting for 49,671 votes from the 209 clustered precincts in the United States and Caribbean island-nations was transmitted to the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) in the Philippines two days after voting closed on May 9.

“I am deeply grateful to all Filipino voters in the United States and Caribbean territories who participated in this election. Voting is a right and a duty. By exercising their right to vote, these overseas voters contributed in further strengthening our democracy,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr. said in a statement after he witnessed the shutdown of the Canvassing and Consolidation System.

Cuisia also expressed gratitude to the personnel of the embassy and

Philippine Embassy in Washington

the country’s consulates general in the US, and to the Philippine honorary consuls in the Caribbean, for ably fulfilling their mandate under thae Overseas Voting Law. “With much appreciation, I also wish to acknowledge the officers and staff of the embassy and the attached agencies, and the consulates in the US and the Caribbean for all they have done to make this exercise a success. At every stage of the process—from registration and packaging of ballots to receiving and counting of votes—our people went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure maximum voter participation and compliance with election rules and regulations,” the ambassador said.

“Credit must also go to the Comimssion on Elections [Comelec] and the Department of Foreign

Affairs’s Overseas Voting Secretariat for supporting and guiding the Philippine foreign service posts throughout this process,” Cuisia added.

There were more Filipino voters in the US and the Caribbean who cast their ballots this year than in the 2010 and 2013 elections.

Overseas voting reached a historic high, with the participation of more than 1.3 million overseas Filipino voters this election period.

“The vibrancy and maturity of our democratic system were reaffirmed by this election, which, by all accounts, was generally peaceful, orderly and fair. We offer our best wishes to the newly elected government leaders with the hope that our country continues its march towards progress that will benefit all Filipinos,” Cuisia said.

INNERS are looking to a bright future for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Winning by a landslide, re-electionist Gov. Mujiv Hataman will step up the implementation of poverty reduction and goodgovernance projects, attraction of more investment opportunities, improvement of education standards, launching of more infrastructure projects and heighten security.

In his past terms, Hataman exposed fake employees in ARMM records; stopped election fraud, advocated transparency of records in the government, and reformed the bureaucracy by improving work flow.

A first in ARMM, communityservice organizations and local governments collaborated in organizing development projects.

Hataman built “roads of peace” that were delivered to various communities of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front. ARMM was also acknowledged as the most improved region in committing to reduce maternal and infant deaths under the United Nations Millennium.

Meanwhile, his wife Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman won a seat in Congress under the Anak Party party-list group. Sitti has been at the forefront of women empowerment in ARMM. She was instrumental in the signing of ARMM’s counterpart of the Reproductive Health Bill. She added that Moro women are getting more involved in social issues. Her dream is to see more women in public offices and higher positions in the private sector.

“An empowered Moro commu-

nity will give rise to an overall empowered Moro society. The development of our communities is lodged in the women who are at the frontline of our homes,” she said.

Mother-and-son Soraya Adiong and Mamintal “Bombit” Alonto Adiong Jr. have been declared Lanao del Sur’s new governor and vice governor. Soraya merely took over her son’s previous post. When he was governor, Bombit was an influential figure in the business community for his enterprising spirit and marketing skills.

He was involved in the ARMM Social Fund Project which supports infrastructure and provides services to poor and conflict-ridden communities, and guards the management of public funds and resources.

In Marawi City, former legislator Majul Gandamra won as mayor, breaking up the Ali dynasty hold on the city. Handpicked by Hataman, Gandamra vows to stop violence in the streets and illegal drugs, step up cleanliness and order and manage professionally the country’s only Islamic city.

In Basilan newly elected Gov. Jim Hataman’s top agenda is peace and order, social services, health and will focus on agriculture and fishing. Ayunan Gunting

Protect country’s waters from climate-change impacts–DENR

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MID the growing threats and likely impacts of climate change to oceans, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) called on the public to do their part in protecting the country’s waters through active participation in coastal and marine conservation.

The DENR made the appeal as the country marks the 17th annual celebration of the Month of the Ocean in May with the theme “Biodiversity for Food and SeaCUREity,” a reminder on how climate change has wreaked havoc on the world’s marine life.

Temperature increase has warmed the ocean floor and caused the death of corals that are vital to marine life and food security.

Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said the DENR, for its part, has increased efforts to scale up “green” infrastructure, conduct scientific assessment and enable communities, which are at the forefront of biodiversity conservation, the counter the effects of climate change.

He said the agency will also embark on a nationwide coral restoration program and improve its reforestation projects, notably the National Greening Program.

“Aside from this, the country has already received considerable foreign assistance in the last five years to scale up protected area management effectiveness,” Paje said.

“This supports the capacity development needs for protected area management, as well as augment the financing of priority activities,” he added.

Just recently, the DENR established the Sustainable Coral Reef Ecosystem Management Program (SCREMP) in Albay province to help combat the alarming effects of climate change to Philippine waters.

The program aims to raise public awareness and social environmental consciousness on the value of coral reefs and associated coastal and marine ecosystems to mitigate the impact of climate change.

SCREMP will promote sustainable management of coastal and marine resources, including biodiversity, through habitat protection, conservation and rehabilitation.

This month, the Philippines also joins the world in celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22, with the theme “Mainstreaming Biodiversity: Sustaining People and their Livelihoods.”

The event aims to inform the public on the relevance of biological diversity in sustaining people and livelihoods within biodiversity-rich areas. Women’s groups will showcase their biodiversity-friendly enterprises and livelihood and products and services.

The Philippines is one of the world’s 17 megabiodiverse countries and is home to 70 percent to 80 percent of the entire planet’s biodiversity.

The more than 7,100 islands in the country harbor some of the richest ecosystems and species in the world.

Scientists have noted that there is a higher concentration of species per unit area in the Philippines than anywhere else in the world.

It has over 6,000 plant species, more than 530 bird species, at least 165 mammal species, 235 reptile species, nearly 90 amphibian species, and more than 280 freshwater species of fish. It also has a high percentage of flora and fauna endemism.

Underscoring the importance of national parks and protected areas in the conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity, the DENR pushed for the passage of the Enhanced National Integrated Protected Areas System (Enipas) Act in Congress during the past three years.

The Enipas Act will set the boundaries of protected areas and their classification as national parks consistent with the concept of ecosystem-based adaptation, one of the ways the Philippines could comply with the Paris climate accord and achieve the country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions. Jonathan L. Mayuga

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | sports@businessmirror.com.ph

Sports BusinessMirror

Saturday, May 14, 2016 A7

STAGS SURVIVE SCARE

By Rick Olivares

S

AN SEBASTIAN College is learning one of the hard-core truths about basketball—that no lead is safe. Not even a 25-point margin going into the final period.

San Sebastian survived a major EAC uprising in the final quarter to post an 8778 victory in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup at the Filoil Flying V Centre at the Arena in San Juan on Friday.

The Stags looked well on their way to a blowout of the hapless Generals as they sported a 21-point lead, 81-60, with under seven minutes to play. But the Generals unleashed a fiery 18-4 salvo in the last four minutes that rattled the Stags, 85-78, with 59 seconds to play.

EAC forced a turnover on San Sebastian point guard Ryan Costelo in the next possession but its own court general, Joren Morado, made a bad pass that led to a Michael Calisaan fast break that sealed the final tally.

“I think we need to learn how to win,” said San Sebastian Head Coach Edgar Macaraya, who wasn’t sure if he was going to be happy or angry as his team squandered a 25-point lead, 74-49, in the final minute of the third period.

“I don’t think we panicked on offense. It was on defense where we lost our heads,” he added.

The Stags put the Generals on their heels from the tip-off with their dribble-drive offense working to perfection.

The Generals were unable to impede the incursions from the top of the key by San Sebastian’s Reggie Ilagan Ian Valdez and Ryan Costelo, who repeatedly drove inside and found open teammates for drop passes or triples. San Sebastian knocked down 11 triples and finished with 19 assists.

EAC adjusted in the second half with a manzone defense that stopped the drives from the top of the key but was unable to stop the wing attack from Michael Calisaan, Jerick Fabian and Jason David.

Only when the Generals employed a

throttling full-court pressure defense did they make any headway in the final 4:22.

Calisaan led San Sebastian with 25 points, while Ilagan and Alfred Gayosa added 18 and 10 points, respectively.

Center Hamadou Laminou had 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Sydney Onwubere, Francis Munsayac, and Jeric Diego chipped in 19, 12 and 10 points respectively, for the Generals.

“We need to mature fast,” EAC Coach Aris Sison said. “And we already have veteran players. The 30 turnovers of ours are not going to help us.”

San Sebastian, in their fourth match under new head coach and former 1980s star Edgar Macaraya, evened their record at 2-2 won-lost. EAC joined College of Saint Benilde at the bottom of Group A with a 0-3 slate.

Saturday’s

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SAN SEBASTIAN College’s Chester Serajosef (12) and Emilio Aguinaldo College’s Hamaduo Laminuo (13) and Sydney Onwubere (17) battle for the rebound. NONOY LACZA

SASO WINS BY 3 STROKES A

games in the same venue pit College of Saint Benilde against University of the Philippines at 1:30 p.m., Letran against Mapua at 3:15 p.m. and Far Eastern University against National University at 5 p.m.

Petron, RC Cola

eye sweep of elims

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Stankovic Cup up in Bangkok

RETOURNAMENT favorites Petron XCS and RC ColaArmy A try to bolster their respective title bids when they tackle separate foes on Saturday in the second weekend of the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Challenge Cup beach volleyball tournament at the Sands at SM By the Bay at the Mall of Asia Grounds.

After pulling off an easy win in the opener, the seasoned tandem of Bang Pineda and Aiza Pontillas is tipped to face a serious challenge from Cherry Rondina and Patty Orendain of Foton in the 3 p.m. match of the tournament bankrolled by Sands at SM By the Bay, Petron, Foton, Accel, Mikasa, Senoh and Island Rose.

Multititled Jovelyn Gonzaga and Nene Bautista of RC ColaArmy A will face dangerous Meralco of April Ross Hingpit and Jonafer San Pedro at 6 p.m.

University of the East-Manila and Standard Insurance Navy A take the court at 4 p.m., while Standard Insurance Navy B and fancied F2 Logistics of reigning champion Danika Gendrauli and Aby Maraño face off at 5 p.m.

Wrapping up the busy schedule in the women’s division is the game between Far Eastern University-Petron of Kyla Atienza and Bernadeth Pons, and Cignal Team Awesome of Mary Grace Berte and Vhima Condada at 7 p.m.

Also expected to steal the limelight are the men’s matches between twins Daniel and Tim Young of SM By the Bay against Rey and Relan Taneo of Cignal Team Awesome at 6:45 p.m. and the encounter between Philippine Navy A and FEU B in the night cap at 8:30 p.m. The spotlight is expected to be focused on Petron XCS and RC Cola-Army A, two heavyweights who are favored to figure for the crown in the tournament, which has TV5 as official broadcast partner. Lance Agcaoili

YUKA SASO poses with her trophy.

MENDOZA TOPS MERCEDESTROPHY TILT

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ARCO MENDOZA fired an 80, while Victor Mapua turned in an 81 as they shared top honors in the 2016 MercedesTrophy Golf Invitational at the Santa Elena Golf Club recently and gained berths in the MercedesTrophy Asian Finals in Australia.

Mendoza, a 10-handicapper, hit three birdies and went on to shoot an 80 worth 39 points under the Stableford scoring system, edging Danilo Roleda, who gunned down two birdies for a 79 also worth 39 points, for the Class A crown.

On the other hand, Mapua, with a 17 handicap, made an 81 and defeated John Nip Cua by two for the Class B title in the 18-hole tournament exclusive for Mercedes-Benz owners. Cua made an 83 worth 42 points.

Joseph Sy, a 23-handicapper, took the Class C crown as he carded a 93 for 38 points, nipping Benjamin Yam, who also shot a 93 worth 37 points in the countback, while Myra Capparos scored a 107 worth 81 points under System 36 to capture the ladies crown.

The blue-ribbon event was backed by major sponsors Shell Helix

Ultra, TW Steel, Makati Shangri-La, QBE Seaboard Insurance and PLDT Alpha and supported by Philippine Airlines, Security Bank, Canon, Asia Brewery, Johnnie Walker and the BusinessMirror.

The three division winners, along with their respective runners-up and the lone lady champion will, thus, represent the Philippines in the MercedesTrophy Asian Finals set from August 9 to 12 in Brisbane with accommodations at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort.

The Philippines representatives, who will fly Down Under aboard Philippine Airlines, will slug it out with the top winners in the other exclusive series of invitational tournaments conducted in the region for Mercedes-Benz owners.

A brand-new Mercedes-Benz GLE 250d SUV worth over P5 million was staked as hole-in-one prize in the MercedesTrophy Golf Invitational along with one Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR Camera, one TW Steel CE 5003 fully-automatic watch with 72-hour power reserve.

CLASS A champion Marco Mendoza (fifth from left) and Class B winner Victor Mapua (right) hold their trophies as they pose with the other top finishers and officials. Also in photo are (from left) Felix Ang, Class C titlist Joseph Sy, Class A runner-up Atty.

Danilo Roleda, Wolfgang Huppenbauer, ladies champion Myra Capparos, Greg Yu, Class B second-placer John Nip Cua and Class C runner-up Benjamin Yam.

PSA CONDUCTS COLLEGIATE SPORTSWRITING SEMINAR

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N an effort to harness and develop the talent of budding collegiate writers from Metro Manila schools, the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) will be holding its first Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-PSA Sportswriters’ Camp on May 28 and 29, at the PSC Administration Building inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.

The first part of the Sportswriters’ Camp will be a seminar-workshop to be handled by veteran scribes Francis Ochoa of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Abac Cordero of the Philippine Star, Joel Orellana of the

MATEUR Yuka Saso bucked the wind and a wobbly backside start with a blazing windup, saving an eaglespiked 72 and cruising to a three-stroke victory over Korean Kang Ji-won, as Princess Superal crumbled in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational at Eagle Ridge’s Aoki course in General Trias, Cavite, on Friday.

As her pro rivals hardly recovered from poor starts and Superal wavered at the finish on a wind-raked day, Saso bounced back from a bogey-par-bogey-double bogey miscue from No. 11 with clutch birdies on Nos. 15 and 17, turning what had appeared to be a wild finish into a runaway victory.

“I lost my focus at the back but was lucky to have recovered,” said Saso, who seized control early with a 67, dropped into a lead share with a charging Siriprakob in the second round and won by three with a 54-hole aggregate of five-under 211.

“I was pretty confident with

BusinessMirror and Richard Dy of Fox Sports. They are expected to impart their knowledge of sportswriting both as an art form and a field in journalism.

PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia will deliver the opening remarks.

The second day will have chosen participants applying what they learned in the first day by writing a story from a live coverage of the Philippine 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Challenge Cup beach volleyball tournament finals at the Sands at SM By the Bay at the Mall of Asia.

Writers of the top 3 stories will receive cash prizes of P20,000 (first), P10,000 (second) and P5,000 (third), plus giveaways from camp sponsors.

Registration is free. Only 100 slots are available in the two-day interactive camp open only to collegiate writers not working professionally as contributors, correspondents or reporters of web sites and media publications.

Interested participants must send their intention to join to philsportswritersassociation@ gmail.com.

CYCLING AT MOA Alaska

CycleAsia Philippines will hold its third edition on Saturday at SM By the Bay at the Mall of Asia grounds. Categories include a community ride with kids and adults and a 40-kilometer race. In photo during the event’s launch on Friday are (from left) Yam Maramba, Alaska’s activation manager; Princess Galura, managing director of Sunrise Event; and Neville Manaois, race director. Stephanie Tumampos

my game and my chances and I really wanted to win this coming off a victory in the national match play,” said the 14-year-old home-study program student from Harvard School of Laguna who dominated the junior event at Alabang last week.

She, thus, became the second amateur to win on this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour after absentee Bernice Olivarez Ilas reigned at Beverly Place Classic two weeks ago.

A tight finish loomed after Superal, in a flight ahead, tied Saso at two-under overall with a third straight birdie on the par-5 15th. But the Fil-Japanese chipped in for birdie on her turn to regain a one-stroke lead then added another birdie on the 17th to anchor her roaring triumph.

Kang fell by as many as seven but pulled to within two with an eagle on No. 15, only to settle for pars on the last three holes for a 71. With a 214 total, the Korean placed second overall but took the top purse of P100,000 as the top pro in the fourth leg of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Just one down with three holes to play, Superal lost her bid for a fourth pro crown with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18, in a rare late meltdown by the top The Country Club bet whose stretch-run brilliance has marked her previous wins here and abroad. She ended up with a second straight 73.

Thai Chatprapa Siriprakob, whose impressive 69 netted her a share of the lead on Thursday, never recovered from a windblown 40 start and wound up with a 76 to tie Superal, who won at Wack Wack last year, at third at 215. She, however, took the P70,000 runner-up prize.

Storming ahead by five over her nearest pursuer with an eagle on the par-5 seventh for a 34 going out, Saso fumbled with a bogey on No. 11 and had tried to recover the stroke she lost on No. 13 by cutting the dog-leg left par-4 No. 14. But drove into the hazard instead, overshot the green on her third shot and reached the green in four and two-putted for 6.

That enabled Superal to move within one before drawing level with a birdie on No. 15, which Saso matched minutes later to stay on top then hit another birdie on the 17th from close range and coast to the victory as Superal bogeyed two of the last three.

Another amateur Hwang Min-jeong, who toppled Superal and Cyna Rodriguez at Mount Malarayat last year, carded a 73 to finish solo fifth at 216, while Thai Supakchaya Pattarankrueang skied to a 76 after a 70 and 71 and tumbled down to sixth at 217 worth P45,000.

By Joel Orellana

HE core of University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion Far Eastern University (FEU) makes up the national team that will see action in the fifth Southeast Asia Basketball Association Stankovic Cup for Men from May 22 to 27 in Bangkok.

UAAP Finals Most Valuable Player Mark Belo, Russel Escoto, Raymar Jose, Michael Tolomia, Roger Pogoy and Ken Homqvist will lead the squad that will also be coached by FEU Head Coach Nash Racela.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Troy Rosario of Tropang TNT and Almond Vosotros of Blackwater are also on the team. They will be joined

by Arellano University’s Jiovani Jalalon, University of Santo Tomas’s Kevin Ferrer, Ateneo de Manila’s Von Pessumal and Chiang Kai Shek College’s Jonas Tibayan.

Kiefer Ravena, Moala Tautuaa of the Tropang Texters and former De La Salle center Arnold Van Opstal were initially considered to join the team but they begged off at the last minute.

The top 2 finishers in the five-nation tournament will advance to the 2016 International Basketball Federation Asia Challenge.

The Filipino dribblers open their campaign on May 22 against Malaysia, then take a break the following day. The Philippines collides with Singapore on May 24, Indonesia on May 25 and host Thailand on the May 26. The medal game is on May 27.

TRIPLE CROWN 1ST LEG IN NAIC

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HE most prestigious racing extravaganza for three-year-old horses, the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom)-backed Triple Crown series returns on Sunday at the Saddle & Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite.

Fighting for the crown are Dewey Boulevard of multititled owner Hermie Esguerra, Indianpana of Deemark International Trading Corp.; Kid Benjie of Benjamin Virata, Radio Active of SC Stockfarm Inc., Sky Dancer of Joseph Dyhengco, Space Needle (filly) and Underwood of Stony Horse Farm Inc., Spectrum of Narciso Morales and Subterranean River Filly (filly) of Wilbert Tan. A total of P3 million in prizes will be up for grabs in the 1,600-meter race, with P1.8 million going to the champion and P675,000 to the runner-up. Third and fourth placers get P375,000 and P150,000, respectively.

The three-leg series is patterned after the United States’s Triple Crown, with its three legs comprised of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, also with progressively longer distances.

Different winners ruled last year’s Triple Crown, all longshots, with the first leg being ruled by filly Superv. Court of Honor, another filly, denied Superv of a second-leg win, before the second-to-the-longest shot of all, Miss Brulay, surged past six foes to claim the third leg.

Prior to last year’s Triple Crown staging in 2014, all three legs were won by Emmanuel Santos’s colt Kid Molave (Into Mischief x Unsaid), earning a P500,000 bonus from Philracom for the rare feat.

San Beda honors ‘The Big Difference’

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EASON 92 host San Beda will honor alumnus, late basketball great Carlos Loyzaga, by retiring his No. 14 jersey during the opening ceremonies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association on June 25 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

NCAA Management Committee Chairman Jose Mari Lacson said the family of Loyzaga, known as the “The Big Difference” and considered the best Filipino basketball player, including son Chito, will be present to witness the event.

“Caloy Loyzaga has made not just San Beda and NCAA but also the whole Philippines proud so it’s about time we return what he had done by honoring him,” Lacson said.

Loyzaga, who passed away early this year, won a pair of championships with San Beda in 1951 and 1952, helped the country win gold medals twice in the Fiba-Asia Championship (1960 and 1963) and four times in the Asian Games (1951, 1954, 1958 and 1962) and a bronze in the Fiba Worlds in 1954 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. That bronze in Rio remains unmatched.

Lacson also announced that Chito Loyzaga, who, like his father, also played and won championships with the Lions, will also declare the games open.

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

aturday, May 14, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao | Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

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OCCARASO, Italy—Belgian rider Tim Wellens won the first mountaintop finish of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday, while Dutchman Tom Dumoulin added to his overall lead in the sixth stage.

Wellens got into a breakaway before the climb then attacked solo on the way up to the Roccaraso ski resort, giving the Lotto Soudal team consecutive wins after Andre Greipel’s sprint victory a day earlier.

“I have [teammate] Pim Ligthart to thank,” Wellens said. “It was his idea to go away together at that point in the race.... I’m happy that no team rode behind us.”

Wellens celebrated by lifting his bike above his head after crossing the line.

It was Wellens’s first win in a Grand Tour and the seventh stage victory of his career. He also won a stage in Paris-Nice this year.

Wellens clocked nearly five hours over the 157-kilometer route, which began in Ponte and finished with a 17-km climb at an average gradient of 4.8 percent.

Jakob Fuglsang crossed second, one minute and 19 seconds behind, and Ilnur

Zakarin was third with the same time.

Dumoulin, who rides for Team GiantAlpecin, was fourth in the stage after launching a counterattack that responded to an attack seconds earlier by overall rival Vincenzo Nibali.

“My attack was not planned but I saw Nibali going so I went, too,” Dumoulin said.

“There was only one opportunity and I took it.

I really surprised myself. I was stronger than I expected. I didn’t think I’d be in that shape for climbing. It was not a high mountain but it was still a proper climb.”

Dumoulin leads Fuglsang by 26 seconds overall, with Zakarin third, 28 seconds back.

Among the overall favorites, Alejandro Valverde was sixth, 41 seconds behind, and Nibali was ninth, 47 seconds back.

Stage 7 on Friday is a rolling 211-km leg from Sulmona to Foligno. AP TIM WELLENS celebrates his stage victory »by lifting his bike above his head after crossing the line. AP

The Thunder’s stars rose to the occasion, with Kevin Durant scoring 37 points and Russell Westbrook 28, while Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder.

By Cliff Brunt The Associated Press

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KLAHOMA CITY—Oklahoma City advanced to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference finals and left San Antonio’s veteran team staring at an uncertain future by beating the Spurs, 113-99, on Thursday to clinch the series 4-2.

The Thunder’s stars rose to the occasion, with Kevin Durant scoring 37 points and Russell Westbrook 28, while Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder.

“We knew what we had to do to win the series,” Westbrook said. “They’re a great team.

They’ve been winning for 10-plus years, same pace. I’m just proud of our guys.”

Oklahoma City will face defending NBA champion Golden State in the Western Conference finals, starting on Monday in Oakland.

And the Spurs could head into an uncertain future after a franchise-record, 67-win season,

THUNDER

WELLENS IN GIRO STAGE 6

ROAR

with 40-year-old Tim Duncan struggling for much of the series before scoring 19 points, as San Antonio tried to fight back in the fourth quarter.

Duncan didn’t clear anything up about his future after the game. He has a player option for next season.

“I’ll get to that after I get out of here and figure life out,” he said.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 for the Spurs.

San Antonio lost just once at home during the regular season, but the Thunder beat the Spurs twice in San Antonio during the series.

Oklahoma City opened up a 47-29 lead late in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Westbrook that brought a roar from the crowd.

Durant’s three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in the half pushed the lead to 55-31 at the break.

Durant scored 18 points in the first half and Westbrook added 13.

The Thunder looked like the Spurs often do in the first half, running an efficient offense and shooting 46.5 percent from the field while committing just three turnovers before the break.

It was a season-low point total for the Spurs in a first half. San Antonio shot 31.1 percent from the field before the break and missed all nine of its three-pointers.

“They did a great job of coming out and punching us in the stomach,”Leonard said. “But we got some open looks that didn’t go down, turned over the ball a couple of times, and that’s all on me.”

Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 91-65 at the end of the third quarter.

The veteran Spurs had one last surge left and got as close as 11, but a three-pointer by Westbrook, then a driving lay-up by Westbrook, killed San Antonio’s momentum for good.

“OKC turned it up there and turned our execution into forced bad shots, and then we kind of trickled down from there and it snowballed,” Duncan said. “We put ourselves in the hole. We actually played somewhat solid for the second half but it was too little, too late.”

OKLAHOMA City’s Kevin Durant scores »against San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard. AP

ENERGY OF RIO Staff and

volunteers at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics will be recognizable at venues, thanks to their colorful uniforms unveiled on Thursday. The outfits are in shades of green, blue, yellow and red, which also indicate the function of its wearer.

Red is for medical services, blue for the technical officials (who will also receive a formal uniform), yellow for the operational team and green for those who will interact directly with the public. The colors “transmit the energy of the Olympics, which is the energy we want to transmit to the world,” says Carlos Nuzman, the head of the organizing committee. The Olympics open on August 5, followed by the Paralympics on September 7. AP

DAY NEAR FLAWLESS IN FIRST ROUND P

ONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida—One birdie led to two more before Jason Day even hit his stride, and his round kept getting better until the world’s No. 1 player was in the record book and in the lead on Thursday at The Players Championship.

He putted for birdie on every hole. His longest putt for par was 30 inches.

Day was as flawless as the morning condition—summer heat, surprising calm.

When he blasted out of a tiny bunker within inches of the cup on his final hole, he had a nineunder 63, a two-shot lead and a fresh memory of the TPC Sawgrass.

His most recent round was an 81 last year to miss the cut. This one tied the course record.

“It just kept on building and building, this round, just one after another,” Day said. “It just got better and better.”

His opening day improved even more after he finished. The Stadium Course was so vulnerable, mainly because of receptive greens and no wind, that 29 players from the morning group shot in the 60s. A strong breeze finally arrived after Day was done, making it difficult for anyone to catch him.

“I don’t know what the guys were doing out there this morning, but I don’t think we saw the same golf course this afternoon,” Rory McIlroy said after a 72. “It was a little firmer, the wind got up a little bit and those guys made the course look awfully easy this morning.”

Jordan Spieth couldn’t say the same. He

played with Day and couldn’t keep up.

In his first tournament since losing a five-shot lead at the Masters, Spieth dropped three shots over his last five holes and labored to a 72. He ended with a double bogey on the par-5 ninth when it took him five shots to get down from a bunker behind the green.

“I hit two fantastic shots,” Spieth said, “and then not really sure after that.”

Masters champion Danny Willett, rusty from a month of being home with a newborn son and a green jacket, opened with a 70.

There were 40 rounds in the 60s and 82 rounds under par, the most at The Players since 1993. Even so, Day was eight shots better than the average score of the strongest and deepest field in golf. AP